Before this week's meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the old Persian capital of Isfahan, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali Naimi, had soothing words. "We care about consumers," he said, "especially in the developing countries, and we don't want to hurt them." To anyone suffering as oil prices have climbed, Mr Naimi's remarks will come as a surprise. After all, it was Saudi Arabia that masterminded the revival from $10 a barrel in 1999. The Saudis worked out that watching OECD countries' stocks, and slashing OPEC output if they rose, was a superb way of propping up the oil price. The Saudis long maintained that they wanted to keep prices in the $20s or low $30s. Prices have risen nonetheless: West Texas Intermediate topped $56 for the first time on March 16th, the day the cartel met.
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